What I am going to say may potentially make me unpopular, but given that I don't give a crap about my popularity (or lack thereof) here it goes:

Stop making people feel bad about not taking time off over the holidays.

I am going to make a thread out of this b/c it deserves it.
I have loved public policy ever since I realized that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Practically everything I do/study/work on is associated with public affairs and public issues.

Populations are heterogeneous.

If you have ever taken my courses, ...
... you will KNOW and remember that the first lesson in Dr. Pacheco-Vega's courses is that POPULATIONS ARE HETEROGENEOUS.

You can't use blanket approaches to developing and implementing public policies when public issues have so many different elements that comprise them.
There is no blanket approach to anything on this planet.

We generalize and develop broadstrokes policy interventions because there is a limit to state capacity to solve public issues and deliver public services. Not because it's the right approach to designing public policy.
Taking into account this heterogeneity into every aspect of life has taken me a VERY long time.

I have been a firm proponent of "writing every day". It works for me. It has helped me push forward whenever I've struggled.

This approach does not work for everyone.

NOT AT ALL
I write with two groups of wonderful individuals whose individual circumstances are unique. A number of them are academic mothers, and I remain in awe of how they can accomplish everything they do. Others (like me) are single.

Each individual has unique circumstances.

Thus:
There is no way to recommend to anybody that they do X or Y simply because the only people who can know what works best for them is themselves.

Some people may need this couple of weeks to catch up, prepare for pivoting to do something else, look for work, heal (phys/mentally)
Let's give people the freedom to decide what works best for them regarding taking time off. Yes, there is a metric tonne of work published on the benefits of taking holidays. But this year has crushed many people's lives. I think we all could benefit from being merciful.
It has taken me MANY YEARS to realize that what I do, suggest and propose does not work for everyone.

This is an important realization, and one reason why I don't like calling my blog "advice". I showcase what works for me, and if it works for you all, all the better.
Take time off if you can/want, and if you can't, may the steps you are taking help you in the future, and may we soon live in a society that facilitates structures of support that enable taking time off not as a privilege or luxury but as a given for all members of society.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega

Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @raulpacheco

22 Dec
I have been thinking about writing a thread on how to link theory with research, which probably fits with the question that was asked by @PhDForum earlier today - how do we choose a theoretical framework.

I'm going to try to formulate this discussion as clearly as possible.
This discussion about how to link theory with research (and with the method) is one I have had with @salazar_elena and @gcaleman for a while now. How do we link all the theories we read into what we see in the empirical work?

I believe that there are three elements at play.
1) There are various types and levels of theory (grand theory, meso-level theory, micro-level theory), etc.

2) We (scholars, students, practitioners) need to read very broadly to be able to discern across theories.

3) We need to learn how to establish THEORETICAL EXPECTATIONS
Read 19 tweets
8 Dec
REAL TALK:

I started this week feeling entirely unmotivated to do any work (even though I have a metric tonne of things to do). I was afraid of working on the revise-and-resubmits I have to finish because I was AFRAID OF GETTING THOSE PAPERS REJECTED BY THE JOURNAL.
I have a fairly decent publication record, and to this day I STILL FEEL WORRIED ABOUT GETTING A REJECTION.

(I no longer feel humiliated, but I still don't like rejections).

Public thanks to my writing group, and especially @AcademicBatgirl and @LuxanaRO for help motivating me
If you are starting this academic life, or are in the throes of getting a degree and/or writing a thesis, know that even the most experienced of us feel:
- lack of motivation
- fear of rejection
- stress
- unwillingness to do work (see above)
- overwhelmed feelings.
Read 6 tweets
6 Dec
It took me a VERY long time to appreciate my own writing.

Academia instills in you a false sense of humility. You ALWAYS have to be self-deprecating.

I'm a very good writer and I love what I write, and what I write is meaningful, valuable and important.

(yes, I said this).
Also, it took me submitting 3 articles this year, getting 3 R&Rs AND publishing 3 journal articles (two of them in the top journals in my discipline) to feel like I was back to writing as well as I did when I was a doctoral student (back then I wrote with such ferocity!)
I remember a couple of years ago, re-reading my doctoral dissertation and thinking "man, I used to write with such authority and audacity!"

These past couple of years I've just written with abandon.

I love writing, I love what I write and I am happy I am healthy again.
Read 4 tweets
6 Dec
It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting in my living room and pondering about how I actually never had the joy of either hosting or attending a writing retreat.

When I was a faculty member at CIDE I tried to host #ShutUpAndWrite weekly sessions.

These mostly didn’t work.
I get that we are all busy. I am an incredibly busy person myself.

But for me the joy of organizing a writing retreat would reside in making it work.

I have my own daily writing retreats. I write 4:30-6:30 in the morning all by myself.

I have enjoyed the collective writing.
But if I were to organize something post-pandemic it would need to have firm commitments from everyone.

Life happens to us all, I get it.

But for me, to commit to doing a writing retreat would mean really focusing and not paying attention to anything outside.
Read 6 tweets
28 Nov
THREAD: A student (new to my methods) asked me what I did when I could not highlight.

Most people know I don’t mark my own books (nor the library’s!) but you can do with yours whatever you want.

Since I don’t mark my books, the highlighting and annotating methods I use ...
... may not work in the same way.

Since I prefer analog systems and do not mark books up, here are a few ways in which I take notes that still retain some of the characteristics of my strategies for printed materials.

I’ll outline them in separate tweets.
1) THE INDEX CARD METHOD:

Since I have used them since grade school, I often take notes of books on index cards.

I usually categorize by colour of said index card, unless I run out of color-coded ones in which case I use non-coloured ones, but with a 1/2” coloured plastic tab
Read 20 tweets
28 Nov
I just read that thread about awful experiences during dissertation defenses.

My own was an absolute breeze. I had a fantastic time. I was asked tough questions that were fair, helped me showcase that I actually knew my stuff, and then gave me an opportunity to shine through.
HOWEVER... and herein lies the rub, and this is the reason why I spend at least 2 weeks full time working with my doctoral students on their defenses, pre-defense:

My advisor made me do dry runs and send him draft slides over 3 weeks before my doctoral dissertation defense.
I did at least 4 dry runs with him where we went through the changes that needed to be made. He was thorough but never rude.

Then I did a mock defense with @hishamzerriffi (my best friend) as my audience. He gave me extensive feedback on the slides, my presentation style, etc.
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!